Caroline Burnes Familiar series

Okay, I have to admit once I found out about these books about a year ago, I absolutely devoured this entertaining series. These books are about a black cat detective named Familiar. Familiar has a girlfriend, Clotilde, and a place to call home with Eleanor but he pretty much does what he wants and goes where he wants to help anybody out. This is one smart cat that has a very interesting way of getting his point across and humans believe it all. It seems in every book and adventure, and he has many, it only takes one or two astonishing acts upon Familiar's part, for humans to be convinced this is one intelligent cat and one to be obeyed. He is a swift, sly, crafty, matchmaking cat, (I could keep going with the adjectives), that always get his man. There are 19 Fear Familiar books written by Caroline Burnes, a pseudonym used by Carolyn Haines. I just completed Familiar Vows, #18, and again I chuckled out loud many times at the dynamics of this cat. In this one, a photographer accidentally takes a picture of a person in witness protection and that picture is unfortunately broadcast on the news from a gallery display. The photographer then becomes the hunted and needs Familiar's help, and the hunky ex Us Marshall named Lucas, to stay alive while trying to help the person in the witness protection program stay alive. http://www.carolynhaines.com/ Unfortunately, there really is not a Familiar website. Library book. You really should read these.

Another smart one

Oh, you think I am so smart, don't you? I have been reading books about smart girls, that's why. Another one involving sisters called The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire Lazebnick. What's interesting is that you start reading this story about two sisters, Ava is a lawyer and dresses frumpy and Lauren is a fashion diva and works as a clothes buyer. At the end, you have to really start wondering which one is classified as the smart one and which is the pretty one because it is sort of like they switch roles. So the facts are, Lauren is a over the top spender, on clothes, of course. Their mother has to do chemo for a small breast lump. Lauren is the one that takes the mom to chemo and meets a guy there that is also taking his mother for chemo. Humm, kind of a morbid relationship and probably is doomed. The next fact is Lauren finds a contract that had been signed by her parents about Ava, when she was a young girl, supposedly bonding her to a friends son for marriage. She calls the son and sets her sister up with her intended, which I think was a hilarious relationship from the start. So with all the matchmaking going on, it is with wonder that you find out how they end up happy. This was a good read. http://clairelazebnik.com/ Library book

Smart girls think twice

Or in this case, the smart girl got the hunk. And what a hunk. A ex-extreme sport junkie. Another opposites attract. In this book, Smart Girls Think Twice by Cathie Linz, Emma decides to make good use of her time back in Rock Creek, due to her two sisters getting married two weeks apart, and publish a sociology study pertaining to why people are congregating to small towns. One of the first people she decides to interview is Jake, who is bar tending at Nick's while trying to find his birth mother. Secretly. Jake had had a epiphany when he was seriously hurt in a rock climbing accident in which his best friend dies. He disappears off the extreme sport scene to show up in Rock creek, supposedly looking for a place to put a resort in. So sets the story of Emma wanting yummy Jake and Jake finding it hot that a smart girl wants him. Good love scenes. A good hot read.

Hot Flash

Okay so I read another foodie romance. I can't help myself. This one didn't so much talk about her job as she talked about her stage in life. In Hot Flash by Kathy Carmichael, Jill is a single mom just turned forty and working as a sous chef for a hotel restaurant. And she seems to be going through premenopausal symptoms, which she finds incredibly hard to believe. The beginning of each chapter starts with a letter she has just received in response to a survey she sent out to couples she saw in the anniversaries section of her newspaper. She wanted to know the secret to having a long and happy marriage. She gets some surprising answers but the one that seems to appeal to her are the ones that state the husband is either a traveling salesman and is gone a lot or the ones who are sports widows. So Jill decides to find a traveling salesmen and crashes the conventions at the hotel. After many debacles, the guy that is ultimately right for her is right under her nose but she fights it. It was a nice lighthearted read and funny. http://www.kathycarmichael.com/ Library book

Another foodie romance

All of these culinary romances are making me hungry. Another delicious romance I just finished is With a Twist by Deirdre Martin. I found out later it is sort of a sequel to Just a Taste, which I will now have to find. These books feature Vivi and Natalie, migrated Parisians, now working in Brooklyn. In this book, Natalie has decided to leave her half sister's bistro and venture out into Manhattan to be a restaurant manager. Lovesick Quinn, a newspaper reporter married to the job, persuades her to work at his parents Irish pub until such time as she can actually find someone to hire her as a restaurant manager. And so starts the relationship that proves to be very volatile. In pursuit of his great story, involving the Irish mob, he stumbles along believing his life is the job and women come second best. Of course for this story to work out right, he has to learn the error of his ways. It is quite amusing the interaction between Natalie and Quinn, French and Irish. With some suspense thrown in, the story moves along well and I feel was a good read. http://www.deirdremartin.com/ Library book

Lost Recipe for Happiness

Okay so I am learning since I have been on a diet that I have been gravitating towards books that have to do with food. I discovered a delicious romance called the Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal. What drew me to the book was first it was about food and second it had ghosts. This is a story about Elena, who is lovingly haunted by ghosts of her family who died in a car accident that she survived only to be scarred for life. After she recovered, she moves on with her life to attend culinary school and to cook in a lot of different facets of the culinary industry. The story starts as she is fired by her chef partner Dmitri, who didn't like the fact she hogged the limelight in a recent restaurant review. As she leaves the establishment, the owner catches up with her and offers her a position as a executive chef in a new restaurant he is opening. She jumps at the chance and again moves on with her life. This is a heartwarming love story between two people who have been burned from bad relationships, that finally happens when both accept closure on their pasts. It is a very moving story that keeps you interested through the whole book. And even throws in a nicely written gay relationship between two of Elena's friends, too. I really like books that are constantly evolving and moving along. This is a should read. http://www.barbaraoneal.com/ Library book

Cedar Cove revelations

Having lived on Whidbey Island, WA, for a few years, I can relate to the homey, small town atmosphere in the Cedar Cove books by Debbie Macomber. I love these books. I read 8 Sandpiper and 92 Pacific Blvd and am still feeling the goodness and love from these should reads. Yes, they are definitely feel good, happily ever after type love stories, without the steamy sex scenes, but have a little mystery and turmoil mixed in. In each book, you get a taste of the residents with the emphasis on the character that lives at the house in the title. That person is usually in a struggle over their love life and/or life choices. Debbie has a way that you can step into the book and read it without feeling that you need to really go back and read the ones before. But it is a good idea. I have read all of this series and will continue to do so as I do love the story lines and can easily get drawn into the ambiance of Cedar Cove. Oh and I bought her new Cook Book, too. Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook. Yummy!!!http://www.debbiemacomber.com/ Purchased these books and then donated them to city library, except for the cookbook. Mine!

Rocking birthday weekend

Yep, it was my birthday today and I am extremely happy to admit that this one was the best I have had in 20 years. I am humbled and deeply moved at the same time. I love my friends and co-workers for there gifts and goodwishes.
Soooo I also read 2 really, really good books. The first one I knew without a glance that I would love it as I have loved everything else she wrote. I am talking about Kiss and Hell by Dakota Cassidy. This is a must read. She is fresh, contemporary and out there. The story is: Delaney can see dead people and has a demon for a BFF. She equates herself to the Ghostwhisperer. But she wasn't always that way. Only after her boyfriend freakishly dies and unknown to her, he has signed a deal with the devil, does she disperse his body parts for transplants. That messes up the devil's deal and she starts seeing ghosts. 15 years later, Clyde shows up, a heart recipient from the boyfriend, on a mission from the devil. To get Delaney to hell but he shouldn't have been down there to begin with and Delaney figures it out. It has style it has flare and it has many laughs. Another great one, Dakota!! www.dakotacassidy.com/
And then to top off the weekend I read 'A Little Light Magic' by Joy Nash. A very good fun romance that I totally enjoyed. Tori inherits a house in Atlantic City and decided to make it into a New Age shop. In walks Nick the contractor who is so opposite that the sparks fly. The story was attention keeping and I read it in one day. Good flow, good hot love scenes and good chemistry. And some family values thrown in with of course the usually misunderstandings that weren't done stupidly. That makes a difference to me. Conflicts that are ridiculously done. Another must read and I liked it a-lot. www.joynash.com/

Nora Roberts always delivers

That's what I think. I know that anytime I pick up a Nora Roberts book, I will like it. She has never proven me wrong. They are such great reads and satisfying romance. They always have wonderful plots, just the right amount of romance and sex and keep your attention waiting for what will happen next. Her newest quartet of books starts with "Vision in White". These four books will center around 4 women who have known each other since childhood and have gone into business together as a wedding planner service called Vows. In this first book, you are introduced to the team but centers around the wedding photographer, Mackensie. I actually really appreciated this one as I have felt the awe and inspiration that taking photographs does to you. Capturing the right photo at the right time at the right angle. Mackensie is brought together with an old school mate, who has had a crush on her for years, unknown by her. Carter is a bookish high school teacher, not well versed in the ways of love and romance. It is a with a sigh that I say this book was refreshing with the' find your way through the romancing process' that occurs. There were so many times I laughed and sat with my smile on my face, while reading this book. A bright spot in a usually boring day. I wholeheartedly recommend reading this book and am holding my breath for the next ones. http://www.noraroberts.com/.